Season Three
by CrystalMaiden77
Summary: After Fiona's memory was erased by Kat, Coop ended up finding himself with a new ally in the fight against him, and one that he never expected to have. More chapters are NOT coming up, I could've sworn I edited this to clarify months ago. If anyone wants to expand on this story's concept or whatever, go ahead, 'cause it's finished.
1. Chapter 1

The previous day, Coop had accidentally chased Kat into a construction site with a " Trespassers will be Prosecuted, " sign. After he was caught, the police decided that he would clean a road of litter as community service.

As he walked up and down the road holding a bag in one hand and a pointy stick in the other, he grumbled in annoyance at what Kat always put him through, only to be distracted from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice say happily, " Hi, Coop! " He jumped and exclaimed, " Gah, Phoebe! " looking startled. Ignoring his upset reaction at seeing him, Phoebe cheerfully offered, " Want some help cleaning the road? " not letting anything discourage her from getting to spend time with him. Coop sighed in exasperation, and said, " Alright, but only if you have your own bag! " being certain that she would leave afterwards. She immediately pulled out a bag from behind her back. " You came prepared?! How did you know?! "

Coop stammered in shock for a few seconds, only to say, " Oh, never mind! Okay, you can help me, but don't _talk_ to me! " Phoebe nodded with a smile. While she wasn't exactly thrilled that Coop would be pretending she wasn't there the entire time she would be with him, she was so grateful for being able to spend time with him making things easier for him that she was able to look past the fact that she'd be spending her time with him in complete silence.

For the entire time that Coop and Phoebe were cleaning the road together, Kat tried to cause Coop trouble, driving a dump truck that he had stolen and dumping garbage on the road multiple times out of sheer spite. Coop was so focused on cleaning the road that he was unaware of what Kat was doing, while Phoebe, who Coop had instructed to clean the road far away from him, witnessed Kat dumping garbage onto the road every single time it happened and being too late to stop it.

Eventually, while cleaning up litter a few miles away from Coop, Phoebe saw a parked garbage truck ready to dump garbage on the road ahead of her for the fourth time, and immediately growled angrily and ran up to it.

Determined to stop it from happening again, Phoebe opened the passenger's door of the front seat, and saw Kat in a thin disguise, wearing a mustache, a hat, a coat and pants, at the wheel. He looked startled by her when she pointed and shouted angrily, " You! "

Panicking at how Phoebe wasn't fooled by his disguise, Kat shoved her out of the truck, slammed the door and sped away. Not being discouraged, Phoebe got up from the ground and said furiously, " Not if I can help it! " She chased after the truck as fast as she could, and soon caught up to the back of it, ran towards it and jumped onto it, and clutched the truck as she pulled herself towards the front.

Kat was startled by the passenger door being thrown open by apparently no one, and Phoebe jumping into the passenger's seat beside him. " You're not getting away with that! " Phoebe shouted as she buckled her seatbelt in an instant. Kat slammed on the brakes to try to get her to fly through the window, only to be surprised when she didn't because she had put on her seatbelt at the last second. Panicking as Phoebe started fighting with him, Kat decided to try to scare her into leaving him alone by driving as fast as he could, which failed to work because Phoebe was blinded by her rage. " LET GO OF THE WHEEL! " She grabbed Kat as hard as she could and fought with him, while Kat used one hand to steer the truck and the other to try to scratch her in spite of his arm being clutched tightly by his opponent.

Soon, the truck sped past Coop and caught his attention. " Huh?! " he said in confusion. Coop ran after the garbage truck as fast as he could, wanting to catch the one who had been dumping garbage on the road he was cleaning. Phoebe punched Kat repeatedly as he blindly swerved the truck and said, " Pull over! Get out on the road and fight me like a man! "

Fed up with only fighting with one hand, Kat finally slammed on the brakes, let go of the wheel and turned to face her, hissing furiously, only to be surprised when she threw him out of the truck onto the road. She took the wheel, drove the truck forwards so that Kat was on the road just behind the left back wheel, backed the truck up onto him, and then dumped the garbage on Kat while laughing in spite. She had been so focused on getting revenge on Kat, that she forgot what she was stopping him from doing.

Meanwhile, Coop ran up to the dump truck on the road ahead of him, and gasped at seeing a pile of garbage on the horizon. He saw Phoebe get out of the driver's seat of the truck cheering triumphantly, and said to her furiously, " You were dumping the garbage?! " She stopped cheering and looked very hurt. " Huh? ME? " she said in confusion. " Yes, you! I found out your little plan! You've been dumping trash on the road so you could spend more time with me! I can't _believe_ this! You're so _selfish!_ And you actually had the _nerve_ to _cheer_ about it! I _knew_ I shouldn't have trusted you! This is the _last_ time I ask _you_ for help with _anything!_ "

Phoebe looked devastated, and had to force herself not to cry. Suddenly, Kat popped out of the pile of garbage, gasping for air. " Kat?! " Coop exclaimed, startled and confused. It took half a second for Coop to realize that Kat had been dumping the garbage, and Phoebe had tried to stop him, only to end up dumping it on him for revenge. He facepalmed and shook his head in frustration, muttering, " Of course, " and then turned to look at Phoebe. He had never seen her so upset before in all his life. " Phoebe, are you alr- " She ran away from him as fast as she could without saying a word. " Phoebe, wait! " he called out after her.

Then, he growled at Kat and said, " Kat! I should've known it was _you!_ Why can't you ever find something else to do?! Now I'm gonna have to apologize to Phoebe and it's _all your fault!_ Clean up your _own_ mess! I'm leaving! " He threw a garbage can and his garbage collecting tools at Kat, and ran away.

When Coop finally got to Phoebe's house, he rang the doorbell, and after a minute of him waiting anxiously, she came out, caught between feeling heart-wrenching sadness and frustration and only showing the latter. She said in a quiet voice, " What? " Coop said unhappily, " I'm sorry I accused you. " Surprised that he apologized, she said, " Alright, " in shocked confusion.

Coop apologized, " I shouldn't have assumed you would do that when there was a much better explanation! I know how it feels to be blamed for something somebody else did, and I'm really sorry I did that to you. It was pretty brave of you to jump into the truck and fight him while he was driving, and I'm glad you gave him what he deserved! " smiling genuinely at her by the end of it.

Phoebe said in surprise, " Are you saying you're glad I helped? " " Well, yeah! I'm really impressed! You really know how to humiliate him! " Coop replied with a smile of approval. Phoebe smiled and said, " Thanks! I forgive you, Coop. I don't blame you for coming to that conclusion. And, um... " She said with a serious expression, " If you ever want help from me again, I want you to know that I would help you with anything. _Literally_ anything. Just keep that in mind. "

Coop said cheerfully, " I will. And thanks for not trying to kiss me or anything for the whole time. I wasn't expecting you to keep that promise! I'm proud of you! " and went home as she smiled and silently did a fist pump, incredibly happy and satisfied at finally getting Coop's approval for at least one brief fleeting moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Using his skills at engineering, Kat was able to build a fortified fortress in the woods with an effective security system preventing any intruders from getting in. Coop and Dennis assumed that the fortress was built for an invasion plan, and couldn't get past the fort's security no matter what. They gave up until they could think of a solution, and ended up meeting Fiona at the skate park. After the three of them spent some time skateboarding to entertain themselves, Dennis went home to try to think of a way to enter Kat's fortress.

To Coop and Fiona's surprise, Phoebe showed up at the skate park with her own skateboard and skate gear, and tried to prove to Coop that she was cool by skateboarding. Just like with Millie, it turned out that she was great at it. As a result, Fiona and Phoebe spent the net hour competing against each other to prove who was the best at skateboarding. Ironically, Phoebe tried to win fair and square, rather than sabotaging her, because she wanted to prove not just to Coop, but also to herself, that she was the best at it. Eventually, she won by a slim margin, and Coop was impressed at how Phoebe was great at skateboarding. " And I thought you were just into lame girly games like my little sister! Nice job! "

Dennis pulled Coop away before Phoebe could reply, and told him that he figured out how to get into the fortress. Dennis told him he mapped out exactly the path the security system's laser went along and marked down on a map every trap surrounding the fortress. Coop and Dennis finally got into the fortress after dodging all of Kat's traps, only to discover that inside the fort was an entire room full of Fishy Frisky Bits, where Kat was frolicking. They were the same Fishy Frisky Bit cloned hundreds of times by a cloning machine in the other room. Coop reasoned that soon Kat could get the idea to clone weapons to hurt him, and used that as an excuse to smash apart the machine. Coop and Dennis escaped the fortress with Kat chasing them, and Kat got attacked by all of his own traps and shot by lasers while they escaped from the collapsing fortress.


	3. Chapter 3

Millie went to wake up Kat for breakfast, and was surprised and worried at discovering that he had a fever. She immediately resolved to take care of him all day, while Coop resolved to make sure to stay out of the house and away from Kat until he recovered. He saw Kat's inventions and weapons in the shed, and decided to throw them off a cliff.

Coop was standing near the edge of a cliff, having finished getting rid of Kat's inventions, when Phoebe snuck up behind him. " Hi, Coop! " She gave him a hug after he screamed and turned towards her, and he pushed her away from him, accidentally making her fall over the edge of the cliff. He screamed and watched helplessly as she fell off the cliff, disappearing underneath the leaf cover of the forest below, where her blood-curdling screams immediately stopped. Coop freaked out, believing that he had killed her.

Phoebe landed in a huge spider web, which acted like a circus net to catch her and slow down her falling speed to nothing. As soon as she landed on the web, she lost consciousness from the shock of falling so far. The web dipped to reach the ground, at which point it snapped off from the tree branches high above it, and fell to the ground two inches below. A boy with tan skin, longer than normal brown hair and a dark purple shirt with black shorts, who had seen the whole thing, came over to Phoebe, and waited in concern for her to wake up.

When she finally regained consciousness and slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was lying on the ground of a forest, and there was an unfamiliar boy kneeled down at her side and holding the back of her head, worried about her. She groaned and mumbled, " Where _am_ I? " while staring up at him. The boy sighed in relief and said, " Oh, good, I thought you'd never wake up! You were falling out of the sky and this spider web broke your fall! Are you okay?! "

She was still really tired and disoriented, and she didn't feel like moving. Wanting to just go to sleep, Phoebe said in a daze, " Yeah, I think so... I'm not in any pain, just dizzy... " " What's your name? " She answered, " Phoebe. " The boy asked frantically, " What happened to you?! " as he helped her sit up. " I fell off a cliff, " Phoebe replied, not wanting to give any details. She knew Coop didn't mean to push her off the cliff, but if she told anyone what happened, they'd jump to the conclusion that he was trying to kill her. Seeing how tired and dizzy Phoebe was, the boy said while panicking, " You look like you're about to pass out again! Is there anything I can do to help?! " He put his arm around her back to keep her from falling backwards, and was surprised when Phoebe said quickly, " No, I'm fine, you can let go now, " and looked nervous as he helped her stand up.

" B-But Phoebe, you can hardly stand! You're so dizzy, are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?! " the boy asked desperately. " I just don't want you to have your arm around me, okay?!

 _I don't know you._ " After a few seconds, he let go of her, feeling a mixture of disappointment, confusion and annoyance, and showing only annoyance.

" Excuse me for trying to help! What, do you have a _boyfriend?_ " He glared at her with his arms crossed, and she suddenly felt ashamed. " _No,_ " Phoebe answered with downcast eyes, feeling unwanted and alone. " I just don't want a stranger to be that close to me! I-I do love someone, but, uh... He doesn't feel the same... He just hates it when I try to show him any kind of love or kindness! He has this crippling _fear_ of _intimacy!_ I really feel sorry for him! " she said unhappily, trying to hide what her situation really was out of shame.

The boy said angrily, " And I feel sorry for _you!_ I can't believe anyone would treat you that way! As if a beautiful girl wanting to show him affection is the most horrible thing in the world! " Now it was obvious why he was so concerned about her. " Beautiful? " she said in confusion. " Yeah... " he said in embarrassment, and scratched his neck without making eye contact. " A-Anyways, you're treating me exactly the same way he's treating you, " he said resentfully. " It's different! You're a total stranger! I don't know you! Anyways, I'm not dizzy anymore, so, I don't need your help! Just leave me alone!... I wanna be alone... "

At first he was offended that she acted that way, only to see that she was clearly feeling miserable and didn't want anyone to catch her out of shame. Phoebe had turned away from him to wipe away tears, having been reminded of how much she believed Coop hated her. Seeing his chance, he said with concern, " Are you sure? You seem _really_ upset, " and put his hand on her shoulder.

There were a few seconds of complete silence, and then the boy wondered whether she was silently giving him permission to comfort her, or was just preparing to yell at him for being too close again. " Are you okay? " After another brief silence, he said resentfully, " It's because of that jerk, isn't it?... I can't believe he'd treat you like that! He's lucky you don't punch him in the face! I don't know what you see in him, Phoebe, because you could do better! "

" No I couldn't, " she said, and wiped away tears. She finally turned towards him, no longer looking like there was any signs that she had been crying, and said, " I could never do any better than him! He's my _hero!_ He does an unimaginable amount of good for the world and never gets _anything_ in return, and he keeps doing it anyways! I'm _lucky_ I have the _privilege_ of even living across the _street_ from someone as _brave_ and _courageous_ as _him!_ Sure he's mean to me, but what _difference_ does _that_ make?! He's not given _enough_ respect! I'm the only admirer he's got! So I'm going to admire him for as long as I live, whether you like it or not! "

After looking shocked and disappointed, he rolled his eyes and remarked, " Whatever. If you're the kind of girl who will continue to ' love and admire ' someone who _treats you like the scum of the earth,_ then there's nothing I can do to help you. You don't need a boyfriend. You need a _therapist_. I'd be _good_ to you, and that's why I don't have a chance, " and then walked away resentfully, making Phoebe feel awful again. She covered it up by saying angrily, " Fine! Leave! " and sat down on the ground. She sighed sadly, shaking her head at herself, and said quietly, " I guess I should go home and tell Coop I'm okay. "

Phoebe had walked through the woods for several minutes when she finally ran into Coop, who saw her when he pushed apart the bushes in his way. He exclaimed, " Phoebe! You're alive! " Then, to her complete surprise, he gave her a hug, so overwhelmed with relief that he didn't kill her that he lost all inhibition. After what felt like the best hug of her life, Phoebe stared at Coop in shock when he pulled away and said to her, " I'm so sorry! I didn't know you'd fall off the cliff! I didn't mean to make that happen! You wouldn't believe how freaked out I was, I thought I had- "

" I know, Coop, " Phoebe interrupted with a small smile, wanting to calm him down. " How did you survive that fall?! " She said, " I fell in this huge spider web and it slowed down my fall so that I didn't get hurt! And don't worry! I'm not upset with you! I know it was just an accident, so I won't hold this against you! And I won't tell _anyone_ about this. I _promise._ " Coop said, " Phew! That's a relief! Thanks, Phoebe... Come on, let's go home, " and she followed behind him, happy that he was actually walking her home, albeit without noticing it.

After Phoebe got home, she went inside, opened the door when the doorbell rang, and yelped in surprise at seeing the boy from the woods. She exclaimed, " What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?! " He admitted sadly, " I followed you here. " " Why?! " she exclaimed, half annoyed and half bewildered. " Because I couldn't bring myself _not_ to, " he confessed as he walked inside her house.

He sighed, came into her living room, and said sadly, " Phoebe... I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the way I acted. It's just that, when I first saw you, I thought it was a sign that I had found my _true love,_ and when I found out that you had feelings for someone else, something in me just _snapped_ , and

I took it out on _you_! And it was made all the worst by the way that he _treated_ you! It felt so unfair! It was just misdirected anger! It _always_ is!... W-What I came to say is, I'm sorry about the way I insulted you. I'm sorry I blew up on you like that! I thought that I could just walk away from you and leave you to your problems, but I couldn't. I _really_ want to help you, Phoebe, in whatever way I can! If there's anything I can do, I'll do it... Can I help you? "

Phoebe couldn't help but felt guilty. She knew how he felt. She was acting like Coop, which made her feel like a total hypocrite. She didn't want to make the same mistakes that she thought Coop made, deciding to stay as far away from a loyal admirer as possible instead of trying out a friendship. But she also didn't want to be friends with a boy who hated Coop, no matter how much he said he cared about her. The boy said sadly, " Well... you haven't said anything for a full minute, so... I guess I'll show myself out... "

" What's your name, anyway? " Phoebe asked. " Chad, " he answered, and looked at her in confusion. " Right, Chad. Uh... listen... " There was a brief silence as Phoebe awkwardly tried to get out what she wanted to say.

" I... don't really know how to say this... I'm sorry. I don't want anyone to think we're dating, and while I do need a friend more than ever because life is getting pretty stressful for me, I'm... still not really sure if I'd _want_ a friendship with someone who _hates_ Coop! The boy that's done so much good and been treated like a troublemaker for it! The boy who I'm more loyal to than anyone else in the world! He doesn't deserve to be treated like _he_ is the bad guy! He gets that enough! So I don't think- "

" Okay, okay, I get it! You'll never see me again! I... I just can't believe you put up with Coop treating you like that! I don't care _how_ much you insist that he's a _hero,_ because he doesn't treat you the way a real hero would! So _go ahead!_ Spend your life obsessing over someone who will _never love you,_ whittling away at your sanity as you _hope_ and _dream_ that _somehow_ _things will change,_ when through _all_ that time, you could've found someone else who _did_ love you and given him a chance and had a happy life! But that's never gonna happen because you don't know when to give up! You're the type of person who'd rather delude herself and live in a _fantasy world_ than face reality! When you're 75 living all alone in a house surrounded by _cats_ , I hope you look back on this day and know that you missed your one chance at a happy life, _which you won't,_ because you'll _still_ be stalking him and thinking that _jerk_ isgonnawake up one day and _love_ you!" With that, he slammed the door shut, and stormed away from the house in frustration.

As he was walking away from Phoebe's front door, he heard a boy across the street say, " This skateboard is so much better than my old one! " and start talking about skateboarding with his black-haired friend. Chad hid behind the fence in front of Phoebe's house to watch as Coop and Dennis walked to the skate park with their new skateboards, and quietly followed behind them. He knew that one of them lived across the street from Phoebe, and all he had left to do was find out which one of them was Coop.

After several minutes of following behind them silently, he heard the boy with black hair say,

" This is gonna be great, Coop! " which told him what he needed to know. He jumped out from behind a tree and shouted, " Ah-ha! " startling Coop and Dennis. " I found him! " " Huh?! " Coop exclaimed and flinched, attracting the attention of Lorne and Harley. " Found who?! " Dennis asked, wanting to know what was going on. " I'll tell you who! The jerk who's been _abusing_ the _girl_ _I love!_ " Shocked and confused at the way this random kid was acting, Coop backed away from him as he kept walking towards him with his fists clenched, and said, " What girl?! "

" ...You made her _miserable!_ " he said slowly while enraged, backing Coop up against a tree with his fists clenched. Coop broke out in a cold sweat from fear. " _Absolutely_ _miserable!_ What makes you think you can get away with doing that to her?! Treating her like _scum,_ making her feel _worthless_ byavoiding her like _the plague,_ when all she tries to do is be _nice_ to you?! " Coop said,

" What girl? " noticing that Lorne and Harley were glaring at him. " Don't you play dumb with me! It's not gonna work! I'm not gonna let you get away with the way you _permanently ruined the self-esteem_ of the girl I love! " " What girl?! " Coop exclaimed, clearly getting annoyed. He said,

" What girl do you _think_ I'm talking about, you self-absorbed jerk?! Phoebe! " Everyone was confused. " Wait, Phoebe?... _That's_ what this is all about? " Dennis said in confusion. It was clear that Lorne and Harley were no longer on the boy's side.

" _ARRGH!_ This is _exactly_ what I'm talking about! Her feelings are _worthless_ to you, and she _still_ won't stop crushing on you! Well, _mark my words,_ Coop, I'm gonna make you _pay_ for the way you broke her! " Still confused, and unintentionally missing the point, Coop said, " Wait, wait, hold on, you _like_ Phoebe?! "

" Yeah! " the boy said, glaring at him with his arms crossed. There was a long silence. Everyone in the skate park stared at him for a few seconds before asking simultaneously, " Why? " He couldn't believe it. " Why _not?_ " After another silence where Coop looked extremely confused, Coop said,

" Well, _anyways_ , if this is some sort of _jealousy_ thing, you can _relax_ , because I don't _like_ Phoebe. You can _have_ her! I _want_ you to be her boyfriend, because I don't _want_ her! If this is a competition, I'm dropping out of it! I _want_ you to win! I'm 100% on _your_ side! _Please,_ take her! "

" You don't _get_ it, _do_ you? It's not just a jealousy thing! I just can't believe Phoebe's got such a huge crush on a _total jerk_ who _avoids_ her like the _plague_ and _hates_ her and doesn't appreciate her at all, and when _someone_ comes along who _does,_ she doesn't even wanna be friends with me because I hate the way you act! It's not fair! I'm the one person who stands up for her! And she doesn't even appreciate it! "

Getting annoyed, Coop said angrily, " Hey! How am _I_ the bad guy?! _Phoebe's_ the one who has no sense of personal space! I have every reason to wanna avoid her! She's _creepy_! If she doesn't like the way I avoid her, then _maybe_ she shouldn't _give me a reason to avoid her_! I'm not gonna feel sorry for her if she can't _learn_ from her own _mistakes!_ The only way she'll be allowed to hang out with me all the time is if she _stops_ making me _uncomfortable_ and _says_ _she's sorry_ and settles for us being just _friends!_ And if she keeps getting upset 'cause she refuses to swallow her pride and _apologize_ to someoneshesupposedly _cares about, she's_ in the wrong, _not_ me! Let's just get that straight, kid! I _don't_ ' hate ' her and I'm not ' abusing ' her! I wouldn't be treating her the way I do if she _apologized_ , but she _won't_ , and as long as she doesn't, _nothing_ will change. _I'm_ not the one you should be trying to talk some sense into! It's _her_! "

There was a stunned silence, with everyone being surprised and impressed that Coop stood up for himself. The boy that Coop stood up to had to force himself not to admit that he did have a point.

Coop continued with his arms crossed, " And since when does anybody like _Phoebe,_ anyways? Oh, wait, let me guess, she bribed you to come over here and tell me off _for_ her! Tell her if she has a problem with me, she should say it to my face! "

The boy said, " No, she _didn't_ tell me to stand up for her!... In fact, if she found out I even _talked to_ you, she'd be _furious_ with me... But th-that's _besides_ the _point!_ Don't make me out to be some kind of _villain,_ when all _I'm_ doing is standing up for someone too afraid to stand up for _herself!_ "

He walked away from him with his fists still clenched, hearing Dennis say, " What does he want you to _do_ , be nice to Phoebe? Then he'd be angry that you were competing with him for her affection! You can't win! " Coop said in frustration, " I'm not trying to win! I just want him to leave me alone. _Whoever_ he is. Hey, kid! What's your name?! " The boy turned around and called back,

" Chad! " Lorne and Harley looked at each other, said, " Chad?! " and burst out laughing mockingly. " Dumbest name ever, _Lorne_! " " Yeah, _Harley!_ " Chad stormed away with his fists clenched as the two boys laughed at his name and Coop glared at him with his arms crossed.

" I can't believe it, " Chad muttered angrily as he walked along the sidewalk. " I'm standing up to a bully and _I_ am the bad guy? _That's_ rich, " he muttered. Then, he saw Phoebe's house, and suddenly felt guilty. He remembered how angry he had gotten at the girl he had a crush on, when she said he couldn't even be friends with her because he didn't approve of her crush on Coop. He finally came to the realization that he could've hurt her feelings, and felt awful. " I've gotta learn to control my temper, or she's gonna hate me forever! " he said to himself, filled with shame. " _I've gotta go back there... Maybe she'll forgive me if I admit I was wrong,_ " he thought, and rushed to her door.

He noticed red roses growing in Phoebe's front yard, plucked them out of the ground, and rang her doorbell. When she opened the door, it became clear that she wasn't in a good mood. She glared at him with her arms crossed in contempt. " Where do you get the _nerve_ to show your face around me again? What do you _want_ from me? " She sounded sadder than angry. It was very clear that she had just been crying, and it made him feel terrible.

Still wanting to go through with it, he apologized sincerely, " _I'm SO sorry I yelled at you!_ It was just some misdirected anger! I was mad at Coop and the circumstances, not you! I made a horrible first impression, and I really regret it! That's not who I am. I'm not the kind of person who just, _blows up at people_ for no reason! I made a _huge_ mistake, the biggest mistake of my _life!_ I promise I won't _ever_ insult you again! You're _sweet_ and _loyal_ and _beautiful_ , and I never want to make you feel that way again!... I wanna make it up to you. I wanna show you, that I _care_ about you! Let's start over. Let's spend some quality time together! Here's some roses... as a peace offering."

Phoebe stared at the roses for a few seconds in quiet contempt, and then said calmly, " You just plucked them from my front yard. " She tried to sound calm, but it sounded more like tranquil fury. She still had her arms crossed. After a few seconds, he said in embarrassment, " Uh... yeah... It was an impulse! " She asked calmly, " You _know_ my mom's not gonna be _happy_ when she sees those flowers missing from her garden, _right?_ " Feeling embarrassed, Chad said, " Sorry... It's the thought that counts, right? " and smiled at her nervously.

Phoebe growled at him with her arms crossed, and he said while looking devastated, " I take back _everything_ I said! I didn't mean it! I was just exaggerating because I was frustrated! It's not you, it's me! It's just this whole situation, I've been so unlucky, and, I just didn't know how to react to it! I'm _sorry, Phoebe!_ Things will be different from now on! I'll never insult you like that again! I'm so sorry... I wanna start over. And the only way I can start over and show you that I'm a decent person, is for you to find it in your heart to forgive me. " He tried to offer her the roses again, with a nervous but still love-struck smile. There was another silence. " Do you forgive me? " He gave her a warm smile.

Phoebe growled loudly and yanked the roses out of his hands, and threw them over his shoulder, startling him and making him flinch. " NO! _How_ could you _treat_ me like that? How could you _say_ those things to me?! I _know_ Coop's not _perfect_ and he's made me upset a lot but _you,_ you're a million times _worse_! You _say_ that you _like_ me but you _just_ _keep_ _yelling_ at me! And you _expect_ me to let my _guard_ down enough to _trust_ you? _It doesn't matter why_ you said it, _it still hurt me!_ At least _Coop_ tries to be _polite!_ At least _he's_ never _yelled_ at me like the way _you_ did, and told me I'm some sort of _lunatic_ that's gonna _die alone!_ How do you think that made _me_ feel?! The way Coop treats me _hurts_ , but that's _nothing_ compared to _you!..._ I can't be friends with someone who thinks it's _ever_ okay to treat me like that! I don't _care_ that it's misdirected anger, I'm _not_ putting up with it again! " Feeling horrible, Chad said, " I know, you're right! I'm _sorry!_ " Sounding far more saddened than angry, Phoebe again rejected his apology.

" Sorry's not _good_ _enough_!... My life's miserable _enough_ without you trying to _push_ me over the _edge_! There's only _one_ person in the world that I would put up with _that_ kind of _mistreatment_ from, and it'll _never_ be you! "

There was a silence as Chad stared at her in shocked disappointment. After a few seconds, she sighed, calmed down, and said very sadly, " I _thought_ you would be a good friend, and I _was_ thinking about getting to know you, and _trust_ you, _despite_ the fact that you don't like Coop... But now that I know what a _jerk_ you can be, _I never wanna see you again._ "

She slammed the door in his face. He sighed heavily, hating himself, and sadly picked up the roses Phoebe had taken and just thrown at him. He grasped the stems in his hands and stared at the roses, heartbroken, and it was clear that the petals were falling off. He was devastated that the girl he had fallen in love with would hate him for as long as he lived.

When he looked back up, he was surprised to see Coop standing on the sidewalk in front of him. It was clear from the expression on his face that he had seen everything. Chad walked up to him and said sadly, " You saw all of that, huh? " " Yeah, " Coop said nervously. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. If he had made Fiona that upset with him, he'd be miserable, too.

" I messed everything up... She's gonna hate me for the rest of her life. " Coop said, " That's too bad... " in astonished disappointment. Chad sighed, and swallowed his pride. " I'm sorry, Coop... " he apologized, and walked away.

Coop looked up at Phoebe's house, and briefly saw her nervously looking out the window from the second floor. She quickly closed the curtains, and he wondered if she knew he was just apologized to.

" _Maybe he's right... Did I really make Phoebe miserable? Did I really hurt her that much and ruin her self-esteem by avoiding her? Did I really BREAK her?... Maybe I should go talk to her... Nah. She probably wants to be alone, and besides, I don't want her to try to kiss me up there! She'll be fine,_ " Coop thought, and walked back to the skate park after shrugging.


	4. Chapter 4

Millie got sick because of an allergic reaction and Burt took care of her. Coop lost a bet to Lorne and Harley that he was certain he was going to win, and had to spend quality time with Phoebe for the rest of the day. To make it a little more bearable, he told her clearly that he wanted to spend time with her as a friend, and she stopped trying to hold him and kiss him, and tried her hardest to make the quality time enjoyable for him. Kat went over to Phoebe's house to try to annoy Coop, and after returning to the living room with a plate of cookies, she saw Coop yell at Kat for being there.

" Don't you have anything _better_ to do than follow me around and annoy me all day?! " Coop asked in exasperation. Ever since Kat's boss had lost faith in his ability to successfully take over the world, Kat had been stuck with nothing to do, because his boss stopped sending weapons to him and giving him missions, and things had gone back to the way they were when Kat first came to the household. This naturally meant Kat would go back to spending more time annoying Coop than working in the shed or his lair, because he had nothing else to do with his time. " Kat?! " Phoebe interjected, being surprised that he was there. Kat immediately looked at her, being surprised himself at the way he was addressed.

Remembering how she had dumped garbage on him, Kat hissed at Phoebe, and she glared at him with her arms crossed. " So, _Coop,_ does he just follow you around _wherever_ you go? " He said with a bored look, " Welcome to _my_ world, " and Kat tried to attack Phoebe, only for her to fearlessly dodge him and make him smack into the wall. He ended up getting thrown out the window after a fight, and Phoebe locked all the doors and windows with Coop's help. Coop was visibly impressed, and a little scared, at how roughly Phoebe had treated Kat. Meanwhile, Millie was still being taken care of by Burt, and she was expecting more and more of him, getting him to do things for her with guilt.

Phoebe had gone right back to spending time with Coop, watching a rerun of his favorite show with him while they ate pizza, and she got surprised when she saw Kat try to hit Coop with a hammer from behind the couch. She pulled him over to her side of the couch to save him, and he used the remote to pause the TV show and said,

" Hey! You promised you weren't gonna do that! " Kat tried to smack him with a hammer from behind, and she said, " Look out! " and pushed him off the couch to safety. " Kat! " she shouted. She flipped Kat off the couch and pinned him to the ground furiously by the shoulders. She glared at Kat furiously and shouted, " Don't you learn your lesson, you hairless freak?! " and Coop nervously said, " Uh, I can explain! " Phoebe said angrily, " No need! " and took the hammer to hit Kat with it, dazing him.

Coop looked away in fear, and when he finally looked again, he saw that Phoebe had won the fight. She threw him out the window and locked it again. Coop commented, " Whoa, " and Phoebe immediately smiled at him and acted like it never happened. " ...Aren't you gonna ask why my little sister's cat was trying to _hit me with a hammer?_ " She said, " Nope! Look, the commercials are over! " and sat back down on the couch as if nothing happened.

Eventually, Coop said, " Well, the day's over! I guess I have to go home now! " He opened the door to leave, and Kat immediately burst in and tried to shoot him with a handheld invention that shot flying ninja stars at him, chasing after him as he jumped over them. When Coop got cornered in the kitchen, Phoebe smacked Kat over the head with a frying pan multiple times, took his invention and threatened to shoot him with it, scaring him into the backyard and over the fence with her rage. " And don't come back! " There was a silence as she calmed down, sighing at sending him away.

Coop said nervously, " So... don't you want an explanation?... My sister's cat just tried to _kill_ me and you aren't asking questions?! " Phoebe said, " _I don't need to._ Thank you for spending quality time with me, Coop! " and hugged him. Coop returned the hug, and when she said, " HUH? " in utter confusion, he said, " Well, you saved my life more than once today! I figure you deserved a hug. " He went home, and after a brief moment of being happy, Phoebe looked worried, and sighed sadly.


	5. Chapter 5

Coop and his family, along with Dennis and his parents, saw a magic trick act by a magician called the Hypno Man, who wore a black top hat and black cape/cloak with a mustache. He was the twin brother of the reporter who called Phoebe's costume " boring " during last Halloween. Millie volunteered Kat to be hypnotized. Seeing that Kat hated Coop, the magician hypnotized Kat into being really nice to Coop and Dennis all the time. " Maybe I should make this... rat... thing... _always_ act nice to these boys... PERMANENTLY! (hypnotizes Kat) " Millie and Burt thought it was really sweet the way Kat had started acting.

Coop and Dennis liked how nice he was being to them, and took advantage of it (asking him to bring them cookies on a plate and do their math homework, for example), but they also seemed to enjoy spending time with him. Coop started to get emotionally attached to the now-affectionate Kat (petting him, hugging him, giving him catnip) and Dennis became a little concerned about it. Dennis reminded Coop that Kat would still be doing bad things, so he'd still have to stop him, and hurt him. Coop dismissed his worries and said, " Since Kat's nice to me now, he'll never try to hurt me again, even when we're trying to stop him from taking over the world! And it's all thanks to the Hypno Man! " A spybot saw all of this and beamed the information back to Kat's boss, who became angry at seeing Coop pet him, and wanted Kat to no longer be hypnotized so he wouldn't get distracted from his now sole mission to send Fishy Frisky Bits home. He sent a laser-shooting robot over to Earth in the hopes of getting rid of the Hypno Man. Coop walked out of the house with Dennis and Kat followed him purring.

Phoebe popped out of the bushes along the sidewalk and said, " Hi, Coop! " " Gah, Phoebe!... How long have you _been_ there?! " She noticed Kat purring and rubbing against Coop's legs, and said in annoyance while crossing her arms, " Hmph! " Dennis explained cheerfully, " We took him to a magician called the Hypno Man, and he hypnotized him into being nice to us permanently! Cool, huh? "

Phoebe glared at Kat while saying with contempt, " I still _hate_ you, Kat. " Kat looked at Phoebe while being held by Coop, and hissed, since he hadn't been hypnotized to like her. She exclaimed,

" You think I'm afraid of you?! Ha! " She glared at him the way she had glared at Fiona. Dennis flinched, and Coop held Kat closer to him while saying fearfully, " Hey, stop being mean to him! " to Phoebe's surprise. After a shocked silence, Dennis exclaimed,

" _Why_ are you sticking up for _Kat?!_ " Getting embarrassed as everyone stared at him nervously, Coop said, " Uh, no reason, uh... I'm not starting to like him if that's what you mean! Although he _has_ been really nice to me lately... and hasn't tried to scratch me even once! " Kat purred and hugged Coop after being put down, and Coop said, " _Aw,_ he _really_ _loves_ me! " and hugged him.

Phoebe scoffed, looked annoyed and said in an annoyed and slightly worried voice, " He doesn't _love_ you! He's only acting that way because he's been _brainwashed_! " Coop shrugged and said apathetically, " So? "

Sounding more concerned about him than angry, Phoebe said, " SO?! You can't get used to this! What if he's not hypnotized permanently?! What if all it takes to snap him out of it is water splashing in his face? What if he hits his head and suddenly stops liking you? You can't let yourself get too _attached_ to him, or you won't be able to _handle_ it when he goes back to trying to _hurt_ you! You'll be _devastated!_ " Dennis said, " She's right, Coop! " Coop looked nervous and then said optimistically, " No problem! I'll just ask the magician what snaps him out of it and be sure to keep that from happening to him! Come on, Dennis! " He ran away with Dennis while Phoebe watched, not knowing that the spybot had started following him.

Coop went to another magic trick act in the park, holding Kat with Dennis beside him, and after he finished it, he went to the Hypno Man and asked, " Hey, Hypno Man? " The man flinched and exclaimed in disgust, " Gah, that purple rat again! " Kat looked annoyed. " I was just wondering, what exactly does it take to break the hypnosis? I don't want him to stop being nice to me! Do you splash water in his face, hit him in the head, or what? " Coop asked.

The Hypno Man replied, " As _far_ as I _know,_ _nothing_ will _break_ it for as _long_ as I _live!_ " He had no idea if what he said was true. He was just trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about. Looking incredibly happy, Coop said, " Yeah! Alright! " and Dennis commented, " I guess we had nothing to worry about after all! " not knowing the spybot was watching them talk to the man in the park. Suddenly, Phoebe popped out of the bushes behind him. " Hi, Coop! "

" Gah, Phoebe! Did you follow me here?! " Phoebe ran up to him, and said, " So this is the man who hypnotized your sister's ugly cat! " Kat hissed at Phoebe and she smirked at him. " Hey, Hypno Man? Can you make another permanent hypnosis on top of the old one? (Coop worries about being hypnotized himself) Can you hypnotize this _hairless freak_ to make him stop being _evil?_ " Phoebe asked with a smirk. Not sounding hammy and overly dramatic for once, he replied, " Sorry, kid, not outside the show. " Phoebe said cheerfully, " I'll pay you a hundred _dollars!_ " and pulled a hundred-dollar-bill out of her pocket. After a silence, she said nonchalantly, " My dad is loaded! " The Hypno Man took the money after a silence and said in his usual hammy voice, " Okayyyyyy! "

The spybot's green eye turned red, and Kat's boss became furious at what he saw. The laser-shooting robot got told by Kat's boss to come to the park and kill the Hypno Man. The Hypno Man didn't get a chance to hypnotize Kat before the robot flew over to the park on a jetpack and tried to shoot missiles at him. Along with everyone else, he screamed and jumped off the stage, which got destroyed, forcing him to continue running with his hypnotizing giant red lollipop in his hand. Coop, Dennis and Phoebe gasped, and they ran after the Hypno Man leaving Kat behind. Kat smirked at Phoebe putting herself in danger, and ran after them in the hopes of seeing her get destroyed.

Eventually, the Hypno Man survived a massive ordeal in the woods of the park, the robot got crushed by falling trees thanks to Phoebe, Coop and Dennis tricking it and tripping it with vines, and Kat ended up getting electrocuted after crashing into the hypnotizing lollipop. The Hypno Man exclaimed in fear, " Evil aliens are _everywhere!_ " He shrieked loudly, and said in a panic, " I'm getting out of this town! "

Phoebe called after him in disappointment, " Wait, come back! I'll pay you _much_ more! I _need_ you, come back! NO! " for obvious reasons. The Hypno Man got into his car and sped away.

Kat woke up, and Coop said while extremely worried, " Mr. Kat! Are you okay?! " He opened his eyes, and Coop lifted him up, hugged him, kissed his head and said, " Oh thank goodness! I was SO worried! Come on, I'll take you home and give you some more Fishy Frisky Bits and we'll watch TV together! "

Kat looked disgusted and shuddered, wiping his head, causing Coop to look really upset. " Mr. Kat?! I, uh, I thought you, I mean, what's going on?!... You still love me... _right?_ " Kat remembered being nice to him while hypnotized, and was annoyed at first. But then, he looked back on how nice Coop was to him, and how quickly Coop began to like him. Dennis said, " I guess being shocked snapped him out of the hypnosis! " Coop said unhappily, " You _think?_ "

The spybot beamed the information back to Kat's boss and left. Coop put Kat down and sighed in disappointment, and was surprised when Kat hugged him while looking sad. He returned the hug and said, " _Thanks!..._ You know, we may be mortal enemies and all that, but I _still_ enjoyed our quality time together. It was pretty fun. (Phoebe looks really sad) Is it okay if I carry you home, _just one last time?_ " Kat nodded, and Coop lifted him over his shoulder and walked away.

Phoebe sighed, clearly upset that Coop would rather spend quality time with his mortal enemy than with her. Dennis said nervously, " So, Phoebe... This whole thing with the laser-shooting robot and Kat being an alien... I guess you're pretty shocked, huh? Heh heh... " She replied, " Oh, yeah, sure, I can't _believe_ the Hypno Man is _gone_! " Dennis said, " Wait, let me get this straight! You're focusing _more_ on the fact that the Hypno Man left Bootsville than Kat being an evil alien?! I, why?! "

Phoebe looked away and said nervously, " I, uh... I dunno, I guess, uh, it's just that he's always kinda _looked_ like one, I guess. So it doesn't surprise me because of the way he looks!... But that Hypno Man, he could've changed _everything_! And now he's _gone_! I'm going home... " Dennis stared at her in confusion as she walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

It was Report Card Day. Dennis said to Coop on the way home, " I'm not looking forward to showing my parents my report card. " Coop came home and said, " Look, Dad, I got a B in Gym! " Burt looked at the report card and said, " And that's the _only B_ you _got?_ You need to pay more attention in school! You're grounded, mister! " Millie said cheerfully, " Look, Daddy, I got an A+ in every subject! " He hugged her and said, " That's my daughter, the _GENIUS!_ " Kat looked confused at the scene, just as confused as Coop. " And I made the honour roll _again!_ " Burt said, " Looks like that calls for ice cream! Coop, go to your room, no more ice cream until you get your grades up. Come on, my _favorite_ child! To the _kitchen!_ " and carried her into the kitchen on his shoulders.

Dennis brought home his report card, and said nervously to his father, " Look, Dad, I got an A in every subject! " His father simply said, " Why no A+?! You're a disappointment to your entire family! Shame on you! You're grounded! Study harder!... No, not the living room! Go study somewhere else! You're going to ruin my wedding anniversary! "

Lorne and Harley brought home a report card to their hillbilly parents. Lorne said proudly, " Look, Mom, we got D's in nearly every subject! And an F in math! " She said, " Good! I don't want to be raising no math geek! I'm proud of you!... Huh? What's this, Harley? An _A_ in Gym class? Why no A+?! You're a disappointment to your entire family! "

Coop talked to Dennis through a walky-talky afterwards. " It's Kat's fault I can't get good grades! I can't _believe_ that _Millie,_ who's always in her own little world, is _constantly_ _on_ the honor roll! Something's up! She _must_ be cheating! If she was _really_ a genius, she _wouldn't_ be oblivious at _all!_ " He looked out the window at his treehouse, and noticed that Kat was working on an invention in there. " Dennis! Kat's making something in the treehouse! I think he's trying to make another invasion plan! But since both of us are grounded, how are we supposed to stop him?! " Coop exclaimed in a panic. Dennis suggested,

" Why not ask Phoebe's help?... Remember how much help she was when we were trying to save the Hypno Man? She didn't try to kiss you once! Why not give her a chance with this and see how it goes? I'll call her and ask her! I mean, how else are we supposed to find out what Kat's up to? Your dad's out in the backyard mowing the lawn, so you can't go there without getting caught! We don't have any other options. " Coop sighed and reluctantly said, " Sure, why not? " Then, he said jokingly, " If Kat ends up vaporizing Phoebe, at least I won't have to deal with her trying to kiss me anymore! " Dennis said in shock, " How can you say that?! "

" It was just a joke! I don't _actually_ want Phoebe to get vaporized! I was kidding!... Look, just call her and tell her to come to the treehouse and we think Kat's up to something there. Then she'll tell us what's going on and _maybe_ she can _do_ something about it, " Coop replied.

Phoebe eagerly agreed to come to the treehouse and quietly climbed up the ladder, and saw Kat working on a machine, with it being clear from the designs that it was supposed to be used to shoot a lightning bolt directly at Coop. She tackled Kat from behind, shouted, " Got you! " and held Kat down. She told Kat that she would become his new worst enemy, because while Coop at least cared about Kat a little, she had no compassion for him at all and would kill him if given the chance. She intimidated him by saying, " You'll see me in your NIGHTMARES! " smacked him over the head with a wrench, and then used the lightning shooter against Kat to try to shoot him with lightning. The lightning hit him as he screeched in pain and then bounced off him, which caused the machine to destroy itself after Phoebe ducked out of the way. She then started fighting with Kat furiously, unaware that Coop was watching the treehouse in his room with binoculars. She eventually kicked Kat out of the treehouse, ripped up all the designs for the machine, and got out of the treehouse. She acted sweet and innocent in front of Mr. Burtonburger and pretended she had no idea why Kat fell out of the treehouse injured, and went back home.

Coop called Dennis with his walky-talky and told him what he saw, and Dennis said, " She passed the test! I think we've got a powerful ally, Coop! Normally I wouldn't be so okay with hanging out with Phoebe all the time, but when it comes to saving the world, we need all the help we can get! " Coop said nervously, " Hanging out... with _Phoebe?... "_ He thought, _" What was I thinking?! "_ He said,

"Yeah, well, I know she did great _today,_ but, that was just _one_ time! W-We can't just _assume_ that she can handle Kat based on just _this_! A-And she's obviously not over her crush on me, and it's not just gonna up and _vanish!_ Don't you think that'll be _distracting?_ What if Kat vaporizes me while she's distracting me with her flirting? If she's still gonna be doing stuff like that around me, it won't matter _how_ rough she is with Kat! I _can't_ be _friends_ with her if she keeps acting like that, and I doubt she's gonna change. Plus, we'd have to _call_ _her_ _up_ when we want her to come over and help, because she's not gonna be around us _all_ _the_ _time_ , that's for sure! And let's not forget the fact that if anything happened to Kat, I'd be blamed for it, so if Phoebe's too rough with him and _accidentally_ makes him _croak_ , which _sounds like something she'd do,_ I'll get in _trouble!_ L-Let's not _rush_ this, Dennis... It'd be a _huge_ change to the _status quo,_ so it shouldn't just happen all at once! " Dennis groaned and facepalmed. " Ugh, _fine._ I'll tell her you don't want her help saving the world! But she won't be happy! " Then, Coop saw Phoebe leave the treehouse with an empty bag, and wondered what just happened.

Dennis called Phoebe and said, " Hey! I heard about the way you handled Kat! I'm proud of you! That was awesome! " Phoebe said with a smile, " Thanks! " incredibly excited at being shown appreciation by him. If Coop wouldn't thank her, Dennis doing so was the next best thing. Dennis asked, " So, Coop wanted to ask you... Why did you leave the treehouse with an empty bag? "

She got worried and said, " Um... I don't know if I should _tell_ you this, you might not _like_ it... Well, I put a camera there disguised as an ordinary object, and it sends the _video_ footage to my _room_ so I'll be able to know when Kat's up to no _good_ in the _treehouse_! But if Coop finds _out_ about it, he'll get really _upset_ over an ' invasion of privacy! ' Like, he's barely ever _there,_ so what difference does it make for _him?_ If he finds out about this, he'll _never_ trust me again! _Please_ don't tell him about the camera! I'm doing this with the best of intentions! "

Feeling sorry for her and understanding her reasoning, Dennis said, " I won't tell him, Phoebe, I promise! If that's what you have to do, then do it! " Phoebe said, " Great!... So, um, does all this mean that Coop's okay with me helping out now? "

Dennis said, " Oh... well, I don't know. He's been making excuses not to let you help lately. " Upset and slightly frustrated, Phoebe asked, " What _kind_ of excuses? " " Nothing surprising, you know, he said you might distract him by treating him like a boyfriend and get him vaporized, and you might not be okay with being just friends, and you might have more than you can _handle_ with Kat trying to _destroy_ you and _humiliate_ you, and you won't be _around_ him enough to catch Kat's plans by _yourself_ ,we'll have to call you whenever we want your help. It's not very convenient. And then he said that you might be a little _too_ rough with Kat and _he'd_ get _blamed_ for it! But it doesn't matter! I'm sure he'll stop making excuses when he's used to you helping him! "

Phoebe said in confusion, " Wait, what? He thinks I'll have more than I can handle? Does he think I can't take care of myself? "

Remembering when Fiona said that, Dennis became nervous and said, " Well, _I_ think you're _more_ than capable of handling Kat! But it's still pretty dangerous, so I get why Coop would be concerned about you putting your life in danger. He doesn't want you to get hurt! " She muttered under her breath, " Typical. " " What? "

" He knows very well that I can get that purple _rat_ scared out of his _wits_ , and he knows _very well_ that I'm tough enough to hold my own in a fight with _anyone,_ and he _still_ won't let me make his life easier because _he can't forget the past!_ I _knew_ I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up! I'm not proud of the way I acted, Dennis. If he lets me be his _friend_ , I'll stop it entirely! Sure being enemies with Kat can have its issues, but for _once_ in my _life_ I feel like I have a _purpose_ and my life isn't _meaningless!_ I _like_ being a hero! It gives me a reason to get _up_ in the morning and be _glad_ to be alive! I _can't_ go _back_ to being nothing more than a _nuisance_ who doesn't, _matter..._ " She sighed sadly, and said, " Why am I even _telling_ you this? It's not gonna _change_ anything. Either way he's still gonna hate me no matter _what_ I do to Kat. _Goodbye_ , Dennis. " She hung up.

Dennis gasped, and told Coop about it over the walky-talky, making him feel guilty. He heard Millie say cheerfully, " Don't worry, Mr. Kat, I know your entire body is in pain and you can barely move your legs, but _Nurse Millie_ will make it _all better_ with the _healing power of love!_ " Coop said in relief that he was glad Kat would be too injured to annoy him for a while, only to sigh at being faced with the fact that Phoebe would be a powerful ally indeed. He told Dennis, " Alright, alright. Tell Phoebe that I'm sorry I underestimated her, and if she _stops_ treating me like a boyfriend, then, I _guess_ we can be friends. So just, uh, tell her she can help if she wants, _as long as she behaves._ " Dennis sighed in relief, and said, " Good... I'll call her, " and hung up.

Still in her room, Phoebe was completely miserable. She was sitting on a chair in front of her mirror, staring at herself unhappily. After a couple seconds of silence, she started glaring at the mirror, culminating in her growling furiously and exclaiming, " This is all your fault! " before hitting her own reflection as hard as she could. She rubbed her hand in pain afterwards, and struggled to force back the tears. She was about to lose all hope, until she heard the phone ring beside her, and saw Dennis' number on the call display. She picked it up, fully expecting to get terrible news. But when she heard what Dennis had to say, she finally started to smile again. Coop was going to let her be a hero, and she couldn't be happier.


	7. Chapter 7

Mr. Burtonburger had to go to another town to get something for the House of Swap, so he left the kids with a teenaged babysitter, Tina, who lived three doors down. Kat tried to make various weapons to kill Coop, like a tiny flying heat-seeking saucer that shot lasers, and tried all day to kill Coop. Tina kept secretly and accidentally witnessing Kat trying to kill Coop while she was looking after Millie, and reacted the same way Coop's teacher did, with her eyes twitching and shaking her head in shocked disbelief.

Eventually, she ended up foiling Kat's plan to crush Coop with a boulder after he had tied him to his bed, by splashing Kat with a bucket of water and untying Coop just in time. Coop said happily,

" Thanks! You're _awesome!_ I can't wait until _next_ time you babysit! " She said, " Next time? Oh, no, there's not going to _be_ a next time! The _next_ time could be my _last!_ " and quickly ducked out of the way when Kat tried to attack her. Burt rang the doorbell, and she took the money and ran away from the house in fear, vowing to never babysit them again. Coop commented, " Too bad... She was a great babysitter. " Millie commented, " She _sure was,_ " and went to bed with a smile, holding an annoyed Kat.


	8. Chapter 8

Fiona came to Bootsville for the week when there was snow covering the ground. She learned from Dennis that he and Coop were trying out a friendship with Phoebe, which was doing great so far. Meanwhile, Coop and Kat had a fight and Coop ended up locking Kat completely out of the house in the cold.

Fiona went over to Phoebe's house around the time that a heavy blizzard started, hugged her, and said, " Congratulations! " while hugging her. " I heard that you and Coop are friends now! I'm SO happy for you! " Phoebe suspiciously asked, " Why are you being so friendly? " Fiona explained cheerfully, " I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I wanted to patch things up and spend some quality time with you! I want _us_ to be on better terms with each other, _too!_ " Phoebe was shocked.

She said, " You _really_ don't hate me? " " Well, hate's too strong a word! If I hated you, I'd want to humiliate you and hurt you and make terrible stuff happen to you! I don't hate you. That's why I wanna hang out! That, and Coop's overwhelmed with homework and _way_ too busy... What's wrong, Phoebe? "

Phoebe looked sad, and then became very skeptical and suspicious of her. " I dunno, Fiona, it just sounds too good to be true. It just doesn't make any _sense_ that you'd wanna be _buddies_ out of the _blue!_ " Fiona got offended at the accusations and said, " I'm not trying to _trick_ you! I just don't want you to keep _hating_ me! " They started arguing as the blizzard intensified, while Kat took shelter in the shed.

Fiona said angrily, " Fine! If you don't wanna spend quality time with me, I'll just _leave!_ " She opened the door, and was shocked to see it completely blocked by snow. She screamed and closed the door, and exclaimed, " We're snowed in! "

After a brief silence, she said awkwardly, " So, I guess you really don't have a _choice_ now, huh? " Phoebe crossed her arms, and Fiona put her arm around her and said cheerfully, " Oh, come on, it won't be so bad! This is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other! I really think your new friendship with Coop will be so much easier if we're on good terms! What do you say? " Phoebe sighed and said reluctantly, " Alright, why not? " Fiona cheered happily and said, " Great! " She heard a bell ring and said, " Your mom baked cookies? " Phoebe nodded, and followed her into the kitchen reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Kat was trapped in the shed without indoor heating, and desperately tried to keep himself warm so that he wouldn't die from frostbite, while Millie was incredibly worried about Kat because she couldn't find him anywhere.

After Phoebe and Fiona had cookies together, Fiona called Mrs. Munson and told her she was snowed in at Phoebe's house and would be fine. Fiona sat down on the couch in the living room, and Phoebe sat right beside her, with a reluctant expression on her face. To prevent Fiona from commenting on it, she said, " It must be pretty hard for you having to stay at _Old Lady Munson's_ house, " Phoebe said. " Yeah, Auntie Munson's really strict! I have to sneak out if I wanna do _anything_ outside her yard! It makes me _glad_ I don't have to _live_ here! That, and my best friend is back home and I _hate_ to get separated from her… "

Phoebe said in surprise, " _Her?_ Wait, I thought _Coop_ was your best friend! " Fiona looked nervous. " Well, uh, I guess he is _here,_ but I barely ever get to see him and don't know him very well. I'm so much closer to _Jessica!_ I've known her all my life and we know everything about each other! We're really really _really_ close friends! We're _so_ close, we even practice kissing together!"

Fiona giggled, while Phoebe looked baffled at the thought. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. " You really care about her. " Fiona smiled warmly while saying, " Yeah... She's _beautiful_. " " What does she look like? " Fiona answered, " Oh, brown eyes, tan skin, and long dark brown hair with a red bow in it. She's kinda like you! Only nicer!... No offense. " There was a silence. " I don't want Coop to get jealous of Jessica!... Please don't tell him about her! "

" What, are you kidding? He would never _believe_ me! I'm glad you're so close to her, Fiona!

I think it's _great_ that you like someone better than _Coop_! " Fiona was surprised, and gave her a mildly annoyed look. " Oops, did I say that out loud? Well, it doesn't matter. Let's watch some TV! " Phoebe said quickly with a satisfied smile, relieved that there was someone that Fiona clearly liked more than Coop.

Later, they had dinner together, at which point Phoebe was still acting reluctant to be around her but was opening up to her. Meanwhile, Kat had built an indoor heating system for the shed in desperation. Millie was still really worried about Kat, believing he was trapped outside in the cold, and Coop looked out the window of his bedroom and became worried because there was snow piled up in front of it.

Because they were still snowed in when night came, Fiona and Phoebe had to have a sleepover, with Phoebe being reluctant about it. Since Phoebe refused to let her sleep in her room, Fiona took the couch, instead.

The next morning, Fiona and Phoebe had pancakes together. Coop went outside in his winter clothes to search for Kat, and found him in the shed warm and asleep, having built his own indoor heating system. " You're alive! I was SO worried! I had no idea the blizzard would get that bad! I'm sorry! I promise I'm _never_ gonna lock you out of the house again! I'm gonna get you inside and give you an _entire_ bag of Fishy Frisky Bits to make it up to you! Okay? " After a shocked silence, he smiled and purred, accepting the apology, and followed him inside. Coop noticed Fiona walk out of Phoebe's house and saw Phoebe whisper something to her and give her a hug, and smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

A sealed box was sent to Earth in a " meteorite " container, and Coop, Dennis and Phoebe became worried that it was a spaceship. They reached the box in the woods before Kat woke up from his nap, and since they were unable to open it, they assumed it had weapons in it and hid the box from Kat. He tried to get it back from them all day as they continued trying to hide it and open it. Coop sent it to Dennis, and when Kat came to get it back from his house, he sent it to Phoebe, and when he came over to attack her, she sprayed him in the eyes with Honeyfluff's coat shine enhancer and escaped the house with the box.

Eventually, they brought the box to a cliff to throw it over. Kat got the box back in exchange for not throwing Coop over the cliff, and they walked away. Phoebe became worried about letting Kat get the box back. She peaked through the bushes and saw Kat use his collar to open up the box, and inside that sealed box was catnip in a heart-shaped package. It was a gift from his wife. Phoebe couldn't help but smile a little at seeing that Kat had a soft side.


	10. Chapter 10

A soccer game between a town and Bootsville happened, which resulted in Coop and Fiona on opposing teams with each other. At first they were reluctant to try to make the other lose, until Fiona cheerfully said, " Oh, what do I have to worry about? It won't be hard at all to win! You have such a crush on me, you'll lose the game on purpose just to make me happy! " Coop said while worried,

" Hey, hey, wait, that's a LOT to expect of me to do!... They're gonna _hate me_ if I throw the game! " Fiona said, " Yeah, but you'll do it anyways! You couldn't _stand_ to make me upset by winning against me, and I can _always_ count on you to help me and do what I _want!_ " After realizing what she said, Fiona looked nervous and said, " Oops, _that came out wrong._ I meant make me happy 'cause we're friends! "

" What?! I know we're _friends_ , but there's a _limit_ to how much you can expect me to do for you. You can't just _take me for granted!_ I don't care how much you try to _manipulate_ _me_ into doing what you want, _I'm_ _not betraying Dennis!_ "

Fiona gasped, and became angry. " Manipulate? Oh, so you think I'm manipulating?! " " Well, that's what you're trying to do! Getting me to do what you want by playing with my feelings! " " You really think I'm that kind of girl who would do stuff like take advantage of a boy's crush by guilting him into doing whatever I want or leading him on? " Coop said suspiciously, " ...I never said anything about leading me on!... Is that what you've been doing all along?! _Pretending_ to _like_ _me_?" Fiona gasped. " NO! I like you, just not as much as, I-I mean, t-that was just an example- "

Coop said furiously, " I can't believe this! You _lied_ to me! You want a fair game?! You've got it! I'm not gonna throw the game for a pretty face and I'll _prove_ it! Because my team is gonna win! " Fiona said angrily,

" So that's all I am to you, Coop, just a pretty face? Well, then, I hope you don't get too embarrassed when this pretty face _humiliates you_ , because you're going down! Let's see how you like getting _beaten_ by a _girl_! " " This is _just_ like you, always accusing me of sexism! As if that automatically makes you win the argument! Out of my way, Fiona, I've got a soccer game to win! "

Meanwhile, in the woods behind Coop's house, Kat overcame his fear of bees, not knowing that Phoebe was spying on him. Soon, Kat found out how to brainwash a bee into attacking something using a special pheromone spray, and got the idea to brainwash an army of them into trying to attack Coop, Dennis and Phoebe. Phoebe, who was spying on Kat brainwashing a few bees through the bushes in the woods, went home and got a sprayable pesticide that would kill the bees. She went through the woods in green camouflage, spraying the different bees to death by catching them by surprise, luring them to their deaths by spraying herself with flower perfume.

Eventually, an army of bees came to sting Coop at the soccer game, scaring everyone away from the game except Coop, Dennis and Fiona and automatically making the game forfeit. The soccer game was considered won by nobody and got skipped for the season. Coop, Dennis and Fiona were all given pesticides to spray at the bees by Phoebe, and teamed up in killing the bees.

After Phoebe went home to get rid of her camouflage and look normal again, Fiona apologized sincerely to Coop. " I'm SO sorry! This _whole thing_ is _all my fault!..._ I _shouldn't_ have told you to _throw the game_ for me. That _was_ selfish... Are we still friends? "

Coop said with a smile, " Yeah. We're still friends. And I shouldn't have accused you of lying about liking me and leading me on. That was uncalled for, and really ridiculous, too! Although you can't blame me for getting upset at the idea of it. If I found out it was true,I'd never wanna see you again! " After laughing for a few seconds, he said cheerfully, " Bye, Fiona! " and walked away, never noticing that she still looked very upset.

Dennis went over to Phoebe's house, and rang the doorbell. After she opened the door, he said with a smile, " Phoebe?... This is for _you..._ " and gave her a walky-talky. Phoebe gasped softly and said in shock, " For _me?_ " Dennis said with a smile, " Yep! You're officially part of the Kat-fighting gang! Now we'll be able to call you _any_ time we _want_ and inform you of the _slightest_ hint of _trouble!_ You've done a _lot_ to prove yourself, Phoebe, and we're _really_ proud of you. "

Overwhelmed with happiness, Phoebe stammered, " S-S-So, does this mean that we're finally _friends?_ " Dennis replied cheerfully, " Of course! You've done _everything_ to deserve it! You haven't bothered Coop for weeks, and you've been great at dealing with Kat! Of course you and I are friends now! "

Surprised at his choice of words, Phoebe suddenly stopped looking happy and said, " Yeah, I know _we_ are friends now, and that's _fantastic_ and all, but what about me and- " Suddenly, Dennis' phone rang, and he answered it. " Hello?... Alright, I'll come home. " He hung up and said, " My dad says dinner's ready. See you tomorrow at lunch! " and ran away. Phoebe finished her sentence unhappily. " ... Coop? " After a silence, she decided that it didn't matter if only Dennis thought of her as a friend, because it was better than nobody.


	11. Chapter 11

Burt heard Millie and Coop arguing at breakfast and said angrily, " That's it! Everyone in the living room, NOW! " They followed him there and he said, " You two used to be best friends! " He showed them a home video of them when Coop was just starting kindergarten, where Coop and Millie got along, and regularly hugged each other and were nice to each other. In the video, which Kat was watching in shock, the young Coop hugged Millie and said, " I love you, little sis! " The young Millie said, " I love you, big bro! " Burt paused the home video, and Millie said to Coop in shock,

" You haven't said that to me in _six years!_ " Coop said sadly, " I can't remember you saying that to me at all!... What _happened_ to us? " Burt complained, " I don't know! " Then, Burt showed them a home video of them a year later. Millie and Coop were getting along fine, eating breakfast. Suddenly, Millie got an idea, and guilted Burt into getting more breakfast than usual with her typical spoiled brat routine. It was easy to see that this was the day Coop lost all respect for Millie and they started hating each other. Burt said in frustration, " I don't know _why_ you stopped being nice to Millie, and I don't care! You two are going to spend quality time together when we go to the rollercoasters' tomorrow and _bond!_ Whether you like it or not! "

Afterwards, Coop went to his room in annoyance, and Kat followed him there, and heard him say, " Exactly! My dad completely missed the point! I'd still have a close relationship with Millie if she didn't become such a _spoiled brat!_ Who did she even _learn_ that from?! " on the walky-talky with Dennis. Kat hissed furiously and drew him a picture of him killing him, trying to intimidate him into apologizing for insulting someone who was like a daughter to him.

To his shock, Coop said dismissively, " Oh, will you _give up_ already? You've known me for over a year, and I'm _still alive._ I think it's pretty obvious that you're _never_ gonna destroy me successfully, because if you were _capable_ of doing it, I'd be _gone_ by now! Don't you have anything better to do? Quit wasting your time and get _another_ hobby! " He kicked him out and locked him out of his room.

Later, Kat followed him to the skate park, and tried to hit him with a shovel, determined to prove himself, only for Phoebe to tackle Kat and beat him up, having gone to go skateboarding with Coop and Dennis. Kat soon learned that if he was going to get his mortal enemy to stop being dismissive of him and get taken seriously, he would have to do something about Phoebe humiliating him all the time. She had acted as his self-appointed bodyguard ever since they became friends, making it impossible for Kat to hurt him around Phoebe without Phoebe going berserk on him and Coop laughing at him. Coming up with a plan, Kat decided to trick Phoebe into going into the woods and not being around Coop.

He made it so that she stumbled upon a piece of paper with a picture of Kat hiding weapons in the woods behind Coop's house, which got her to go into the woods alone to find them. She went in there alone because she wanted to prove to Coop that she could be just as useful all by herself. Now that Phoebe wasn't acting as Coop's bodyguard, Kat could spend the day trying to kill Coop, which obviously meant that Kat's plans kept getting effortlessly foiled and he kept getting hit with his own weapons all day. Eventually, Phoebe actually did find some of Kat's weapons, because Kat had assumed that she would never find where they were buried when he made her go into the woods.

Later, Coop and Millie had to spend the entire day together at the rollercoasters, and while they argued at first, when Millie got on a particularly scary rollercoaster and held onto her brother in fear, they finally started bonding. At the end, they agreed to revert back to treating each other normally because being nice to each other felt weird and it would make Kat really jealous, but they'd always appreciate their time together that day.


	12. Chapter 12

Fiona and Coop entered a contest where they'd answer questions correctly to get points, and if they were smart enough, they'd win the prize at the end. They won, but later, Coop found an answer key and realized that Fiona had memorized it and cheated to win. He told her he wouldn't tell anyone and still liked her. They won the prize, which was the materials and cash for a celebratory party, and Fiona was shocked to find out the party wasn't for her, but to celebrate that it had been the 10th anniversary of Coop and Dennis' friendship together. She said she had to go home and do chores at Mrs. Munson's house, and eventually, Coop figured out that she must have been made upset, and followed her to the woods.

He saw Fiona crying while sitting down with her back against a tree, and was even more surprised when Phoebe came up to her. " Hi, " she said nervously, causing Fiona to notice she was there. Phoebe revealed she was hiding a wrapped present behind her back, and opened the present. She pulled out a soccer ball autographed by Paul Lee, a famous soccer player that Coop looked up to, and gave it to her.

" I was planning on giving it to Coop so maybe he'd forgive me for my past behavior, but... what would be the point? He wouldn't appreciate a gift from me anyways! He'd probably say I was coming on too strong by giving him a gift, and I wouldn't be _allowed_ to hang _out_ with him _anymore_. So, I decided that _you_ deserved this. " Fiona smiled and said, " Thanks, Phoebe! " Phoebe said, still pitying her for crying, " Think of it as a birthday present. " Fiona gasped and said happily, " You remembered my birthday! "

Phoebe looked confused when Fiona complained, " I only got one birthday present today, from Jessica, because _everyone_ _else_ _forgot!..._ Not even my _own_ _father_ remembered! He was too busy shooting _deer_ with his _stupid_ ' Guns for Everyone ' group! Then I thought Coop was gonna throw me a surprise party and it turns out it was for _Dennis_ , and not even _he_ remembered! " She smiled and said, " But _you_ _did!..._ Thank you _so much!_ "

She gave her a hug, and Phoebe returned it and said, " Well, you're welcome, " with a nervous smile, while Coop stared at the scene in surprise. Not only was he upset that Phoebe wouldn't give him a gift he would've liked because she thought he'd hate getting a gift from her, but he was devastated that barely anyone celebrated Fiona's birthday.

He ran back to the party at his house and told Dennis the whole story, and he understood and went along with his plan. When Fiona and Phoebe came to his house, they were surprised when Coop had turned the party into a surprise birthday party for Fiona, making her think he was planning it all along. Phoebe said to Dennis, " Wow, that was nice of him... " as Fiona went to the kitchen to get some cake that was re-frosted to say, " Happy birthday. " She was still jealous, but was better at hiding it now. " Phoebe, is it true that you were gonna give Coop an autographed soccer ball from Paul Lee? "

Phoebe looked unhappy, and said, " Yeah... But if I did that, Coop would say I was coming on too strong and flirting with him again. He'd _never_ appreciate a gift from _me!_ I was hoping if I gave him the _gift,_ he'd _forgive_ me for freaking him out so much in the past!... But... then I saw Fiona crying, and... well, you know I'm not exactly _best buddies_ with her, but, I still felt _sorry_ for her. " Dennis said,

" You've _really changed for the better,_ Phoebe. I'm proud of you! " Phoebe finally said with sincerity, " Thank you... Thanks for everything, Dennis; for convincing Coop to let me help him, for _saving the world_ all the time, and for being _nice_ enough to be my _friend_. I'm _really_ glad things worked out the way they _did_. " Dennis smiled and said, " You're welcome. "

After a silence, Phoebe chuckled and said, " So, where's the hairless freak? I haven't seen him all day! " Dennis said nonchalantly, " Oh, he made a bunch of Fishy Frisky Bits grow to huge size in the woods, and he's been there all day. I think a bunch of cats are fighting him for them or something. Anyway, it doesn't matter. We sure don't want Kat to use the invention against Coop! But we've got plenty of time, so we'll fight Kat later. " " Who's talking about LATER? " She pounded her fists together and said, " I'll be right back, " clearly wanting to hurt Kat as a method of stress relief. She left the party.

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's the final chapter! As you could probably tell, I wasn't as motivated with this story as I was with other ones like The Rescue Mission. I fully give permission right here and now to expand on these chapters to make fully-fledged stories and to use this story's universe. I'm retiring for a while. As for my future plans? As I mentioned at the end of The Redemption, I plan to establish a review site/opinions blog where I'll talk about games. I've figured out what website maker I'm gonna use to publish it, so now I'm just waiting until I've written every Sonic review I have planned and made their websites. I was expected to be in my website creator course until June, but I finished it in about a month. I was surprised by how easy it was for me. So I can make a website, I just can't get it seen yet. If I publish my first review right away, they'll expect another one really soon when I'm not ready yet, so I'm waiting a while. I want to have pictures in my reviews, but here's the problem. I can't record games. Well, I MIGHT be able to record off my Wii right now, I don't know, I have a video for that bookmarked at least, but I don't know if I have all the equipment yet. I wanna be able to record games so that I can get my own pictures instead of taking pictures of Sonic games from other people's playthroughs and having people complain at me that I've done " copyright infringement " out of necessity, so I wanna know how to record the games I wanna play to get my own pictures for them. And since I'll be recording them, I figure I might as well reuse the footage for post-commentary and a video review, the former of which won't require much for the Wii other than Audacity (which I just got) and a 35 dollar USB headset. Here's my BIG PROBLEM, though. How do I record games that I don't have on my Wii? How do I record games like Sonic Advance 1 and 2, Sonic Rush, Sonic Generations and Sonic Generations 3DS? How do I get to play Sonic Pocket Adventure without the Neo Geo Pocket Color and cartridge, without getting a virus or getting caught? I don't know the safe way to get the technology required to record them without catching a virus or getting in trouble, you know what I mean? Maybe I could ask someone on Steam, but who, and how could I do that without breaking the rules of a forum? Why does it have to be so complicated to record stuff? So basically, I may have plans to become a Sonic game reviewer and commentator at some point, using my own username CrystalMaiden 77, but I need help getting the equipment necessary for it. If you or anyone you know can tell me how to get this stuff safely, then please tell me. Also, I've added more music to my Sonic playlist, which I plan to have fantastic music from every Sonic game I can find with such gems in it. So there's music from games like Sonic Rivals, Sonic CD, and Sonic Riders on it, for example. That's all I have to say. CrystalMaiden77, signing out!


End file.
